West Wing
by bholley
Summary: What if Belle had not been able to escape from the Beast when he found her examining the rose? Could the wayward swipe of a paw cause disaster for the castle and its inhabitants?
1. Chapter 1

So this was the West Wing. Belle had been curious at the Beast's refusal for her to enter it and had decided to go ahead and explore while she had the chance. She passed destroyed furniture and shattered mirrors on her way to a door at the end of the dark and cobweb-ridden hallway. Hesitating slightly, she opened the door and peered inside. A portrait hung on the wall, the canvas ripped presumably by the Beast's claws. She only examined it briefly before a dim pink light caught her attention. She walked into the center of the destroyed room toward the only light visible in the murky black. A rose, suspended on nothing, floated over a table and was covered by a clear glass cap. She moved slowly forward and lifted the cover, placing it on the ground and exposing the rose. She reached out to touch it, marveling at its beauty in the midst of so much dark and chaos…

Suddenly, with a swish of fabric and a furious growl, the Beast rushed into the room from the balcony and slammed the lid back over the precious rose.

"Why did you come here?" He demanded, furious, blue eyes blazing.

"I'm sorry…" Belle said, backing away, terrified of the pent up anger in the large creature.

"I warned you never to come here!" He roared, advancing on her, claws and teeth bared, beginning to crouch in an animalistic stance.

"I didn't mean any harm…" Belle whimpered, shying away from the Beast.

"Do you realize what you could have done?" He shouted, and began to tear at their surroundings in a blind fury.

"Please, stop! No!" Belle cried, and turned to run but found herself backed into a corner with the raging Beast becoming angrier and angrier. He lashed out at her, barely missing her as she dodged out of his way. Another wayward swipe caught her on the shoulder, tearing her dress and whirling her around like a top. She crashed into a dresser with a cry of pain.

"Get out! GET OUT!!!" The Beast bellowed and threw a chair at her. It struck her slender legs and she fell again, this time finding herself in the doorway. Before the Beast could hurl another object at her, she took to her feet and ran, limping, from the lair.

Her terrified gasps echoed endlessly around the Beast's room as she fled. The room was now eerily still. All that could be heard as the echoes faded were the Beast's breaths as his rage ebbed into a deep guilt. In despair, he took his head in his hands but pulled back, startled by a stickiness on his claws. At a closer look, he realized it was blood. Her blood. What had he done? He had just ruined his only chance for freedom. By yelling at her to get out, he had effectively released her from her promise to stay. The girl would soon be out of the castle. He knelt in front of the rose and grudgingly begged for another second chance as silence again fell over the west wing.

Belle staggered blindly through the doors she had so carefully entered before, clutching her bleeding shoulder. She was blinded by pain and slightly concussed from the collision with the dresser. She staggered toward the light at the end of the hallway where the stairs began, but the transition was blurred. She found herself falling all of a sudden and when she struck a step in her headlong fall down the stairs it was almost a relief to collapse into unconsciousness and feel no more pain for a time.

Mrs. Potts, Lumierre and Cogsworth had run to the bottom of the stairs when they heard the Beast roar so ferociously. They were shocked to see Belle stumble out from the doors, obviously dazed and disoriented, and then plummet down the stairs. She struck her head and her body went limp and rolled to a stop, leaving her sprawled on the landing between the wings. The three rushed to her side and were shocked at her injuries. A righteous anger welled up in Mrs. Potts and she had half of a mind to go up those stairs and berate the Beast for what he had done, but the girl had to be attended to first.

Lumierre and Cogsworth called for help while Mrs. Potts examined the girl's injuries. Her shoulder was torn and bleeding from several deep cuts obviously made by the Beast's claws. A small cut on her forehead betrayed her fall. Her ankle was rapidly swelling up and bruises were beginning to form on her shins where the chair had crashed into them. Belle was mercifully unconscious as various objects lifted her body onto a serving cart and carefully transported her back to her room.

Several frustrated furnishings tried to bandage the injuries, but a lack of opposable thumbs was really a hindrance. All Mrs. Potts could do was bathe the open wounds in warm water and pour cold water into the basin in which her ankle was soaking. Belle lay on the floor in the room, still wearing the torn dress. An animated pair of scissors had cut the sleeve off for easier access to her injured shoulder, but there wasn't much more that could be done.

Cogsworth had managed to fill a small leather pouch with snow and ice from outside and he brought it in to place on the girl's swollen ankle. After an extended amount of time, with great effort from every mobile object in the house save the Beast, Belle was finally bandaged up in pieces of fabric cut from a sheet and laid in her bed. More ice had been put on her ankle, which Mrs. Potts feared might be broken, and a cooling salve had been applied to the wounds on her shoulder.

Belle was beginning to wake, very slowly. First the only sign that she was reviving was a flicker of an eyelid or a twitch of a finger. She opened her eyes to find herself lying in a bed, very comfortably. Her head ached but it felt more like a dim memory. She couldn't stand to try to move, she was so tired and so comfortable. She took a moment to look around the room and was surprised to find the majority of the household quietly working on various things around the room. There were some knives cutting strips from a sheet, and a mop and brush cleaning something off of the floor. It looked like blood. _Blood?_

The memories came back in a rush, prompting a soft moan of pain as Belle realized what had happened. Why had she intruded on the Beast so? That rose must be incredibly important to him. Perhaps she should have turned and run as soon as she saw the anger in his eyes. But how could she have known he would do this? He had never hinted at physically harming her before… why should he do so now? Her reverie was broken as Mrs. Potts came into view. Behind her were Cogsworth and Lumierre. She managed a brave smile at the sight of them, but she could tell that her pain showed through as they looked at her in concern.

"Mademoiselle, please forgive the Master." Cogsworth said softly.

"He… is just confused. I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you." Mrs. Potts added.

Belle looked skeptically at the teapot. _If he didn't mean to hurt me, why did he fly into such a rage that he did? _She found herself too weak to speak, but Mrs. Potts spoke again.

"He simply cannot control his temper," she said sadly. "But you are safe now, and now that you have woken, we are sure you will be just fine. Please sleep now, dear. You are in good hands."

The irony was lost upon the exhausted girl as she gratefully closed her eyes again and let herself sink into a deep slumber.

From the dark chamber above, the Beast felt uncharacteristically weak. He clutched his mirror tightly. He had watched his servants care for the girl. He saw their difficulty but could not bring himself to face them. To face her. He watched Mrs. Potts speak with the girl. He saw how weak and hurt she was and guilt swamped him in waves, bringing stinging tears to his eyes. They asked her to _forgive_ him? How could she? How could anybody forgive such a horrible, uncalled-for attack? He watched her sleeping face, all traces of pain had vanished and even though her face was bruised and cut, she was incredibly beautiful in his eyes. He would earn her trust back. He would earn her forgiveness. He had to. Something inside him had changed; the ice had broken. Because of her, he was beginning to feel… emotions. Like guilt. It must be repaired.


	2. Chapter 2

_They asked her to forgive__ him? How could she? How could anybody forgive such a horrible, uncalled-for attack? _

_He would earn her trust back. He would earn her forgiveness. He had to. Something inside him had changed; the ice had broken. Because of her, he was beginning to feel… emotions. Like guilt. It must be repaired._

As Belle drifted off to sleep, the Beast brooded and Mrs. Potts, Lumierre and Cogsworth met to discuss how to confront the master. The trio made their way from the East Wing where Belle was, to the West Wing. They paused on the landing in between.

"It's awfully quiet up there…" Cogsworth said uneasily, "perhaps we should see if he is in there."

"I didn't hear him leave," Lumierre commented, "but perhaps we should leave him alone. What if he's still in a violent mood?"

"We are a lot less breakable than the girl, Lumierre. We should be all right." Mrs. Potts said, hopping forward. Lumierre and Cogsworth reluctantly followed her. They moved as silently as they could through the hallways, noting with apprehension the greater than usual disorder of the place. As they neared the Beast's chamber, they found evidence of his rage strewn about. A broken chair lay at the base of a dented dresser with spots of blood about it. Throwing caution to the wind, Mrs. Potts hopped forward quickly. They found the Beast crouched on his haunches on the floor beside the table that held the rose, staring intently into the mirror. Upon closer examination, he wasn't really looking at the mirror at all, but staring off into space instead.

The servants thought that perhaps he hadn't heard them, but then he spoke.

"I'm a monster," He said simply. He didn't move at all as they crept carefully forward.

"What happened?" Mrs. Potts asked carefully.

"She… was going to touch the rose," Beast answered reluctantly. "and I… I snapped."

"What are you going to do about it Master? About her?" Lumierre asked.

Beast snorted angrily. "Let her leave. She doesn't belong here." He growled.

"But… but she is our only hope!" Lumierre interrupted.

"She can never learn to love me!" He thundered. "I'm a monster! I hurt her." His voice nearly cracked as he guiltily looked at the redness on his claws and fingers. "She can never love me." He said, despairingly, putting the mirror aside and putting his head in his hands.

"Not if you act like this," Mrs. Potts exclaimed. "The girl is very sweet and forgiving. You saw how she freed her father. If you make yourself likeable, perhaps she will free you too."

"Well how do I do that?!" He roared, tears of despair stinging his eyes.

"Start by apologizing." Cogsworth suggested.

"I… can't face her," he muttered. "Those eyes." The other three nodded in understanding. Those brown eyes were incredibly large and expressive, even when they were dull with pain and exhaustion.

"She is sleeping. Come with us into her room. You must start by seeing what you did." Mrs. Potts said.

"I've already seen what I did. I don't want to see it again!" Beast exclaimed, gesturing at the magic mirror.

"It's not the same, Master." Lumierre said. "Come with us."

Beast reluctantly followed as the three led him down the ravaged hallway, down the stairs Belle had fallen, and to the stain of blood that was still being worked on by other members of the household. Silently, they made their way to the East Wing, where Belle's room was.

"You don't have to say a word." Mrs. Potts said. "In fact, it would probably be better if you didn't, as she needs to sleep." They quietly entered the room. The rest of the servants had already finished cleaning the room, and Belle lay very still in the bed, the blankets pulled up to her waist and one foot exposed and covered in a pouch full of snow. In hushed voices the trio explained her injuries, from the cut on her forehead, to the deep wounds in her shoulder, to the swollen, broken ankle.

"We need you to help us with her ankle. It does not appear to be in the right position to heal." Mrs. Potts said. "We need for you to move it back into place and help us bandage it up."

"I never agreed to this." Beast hissed.

"It's the least you could do." Mrs. Potts whispered accusingly.

"But she will wake up!" He protested.

"Be that as it may, if we don't reset that ankle, she will never walk again."

"Fine." Beast said reluctantly. He gently moved the blanket from over her feet so he could compare them both. That right ankle was most definitely twisted inward and tilted forward. Lumierre and Cogsworth retrieved some of the bandages and some plaster to form a cast. As soon as Beast seized her ankle, she woke with a gasp of pain. As he wrenched it back into position, she screamed in agony. Startled, the Beast jerked his arm and the bones snapped into their proper places. Belle was suddenly quiet and they found that she had fainted from the pain. Beast stepped back shakily. Cogsworth and Lumierre managed to form a plaster cast on Belle's ankle and elevated her leg to let it dry.

"There. That looks better now doesn't it." Mrs. Potts said cheerily. "While she's unconscious we can show you the injury to her shoulder."

Cogsworth carefully pulled back the bandages to reveal four deep slashes in her shoulder, through two of which white bone could be seen. The injuries were covered in a medicinal salve that was proven to keep infection out and promote thorough healing. The wounds were very clean, thanks to Mrs. Potts, but still bled steadily once the bandage was removed. They carefully replaced the bandage and tightened it to reduce the bleeding.

"See now," Mrs. Potts said, "you have helped her. That's your first step." He looked at her dubiously.

"So I fixed one thing I broke. That's not going to make her forgive me."

"Nothing can make her forgive you. She has to do that on her own. But you can try to make things right, and you've made a good start." Mrs. Potts said with a gentle smile. "We are done here. Now we must let the girl sleep. If you wish, you could stay here." She said hopefully.

"I'd rather not." He responded and with a last guilty look over at the bed, swept out of the room. They did not hear him ascend to his room, but hear his footsteps pad down into the room with the fireplace. They heard the creak of his chair and then silence.

"Somebody needs to monitor the girl at all times," Mrs. Potts said, "in case she becomes ill."

"I'll watch her." The wardrobe spoke up. "I'm here anyway."

"That would be lovely." Mrs. Potts agreed. "Lumierre, Cogsworth, please attend to the Master while I prepare something to eat." They exited, leaving Belle unconscious in the bed under the watchful eyes of the large wardrobe. As evening turned to night, the girl still hadn't moved. Near 9 PM, she woke briefly but settled back into sleep without a complaint. Later that night, Beast padded silently the room and gazed at her with his striking blue eyes for just a minute, then left without saying a word. The castle slept through the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Belle woke slowly as the sun shone through the curtains and fell upon her pale face. The pain of the past night had been wiped away from her memory and she dazedly looked down at a large white cast that held her injured ankle. It was elevated on several pillows and was no longer throbbing. Her shoulder was firmly wrapped still, and felt a little better. She passed a hand over her face. She was stopped by a bandage that circled her head, covering what felt like a wound of some sort. Her head no longer ached, and she looked around the room. The wardrobe was snoozing, head down, near the door. The sun was midway through the sky, but the castle was very quiet. She closed her eyes again and settled into a light doze.

Downstairs, however, was not nearly so peaceful. Lumierre, Cogsworth and the Beast were all trying to build a wheelchair for Belle. Mrs. Potts had suggested it before heading to the kitchens. They found an old cart and were working to rid it of moss and grime and to make it more comfortable. Lumierre was gathering blankets and pillows, while Cogsworth burnished the rusty wheels. Beast was using his claws to scrape the grime and old paint off, but was doing considerable damage to the structure of the wood beneath.

Mrs. Potts returned just as they were fitting the cart with cushions and blankets.

"This will be wonderful!" She exclaimed, looking at the refurbished cart. The wood, although scarred, gleamed with Cogsworth's polish and the cart was resplendent with soft pillows and blankets.

"You must take it to her yourself." Mrs. Potts said, gesturing toward the stairs with her spout.

"What if she's awake?" Beast asked, mortified.

"All the better. Just tell her you're sorry about what you've done and that you hope that your gift and help will heal things between you." She said and the three servants escorted Beast, pushing the cart, toward the stairs. He easily lifted it and quietly padded up the stairs toward the East Wing.

He noticed with a pang of regret the claw marks and dents in the door from his fury on the first night she had come to the castle. He was too harsh, he realized now, and somewhere along the way he apologize. Mrs. Potts stopped before the door and gestured for him to knock. He did so, reluctantly.

"Come in." Came a weak voice from inside. Beast pushed open the door and propped it open with the cart, hiding it from her view for now. A look of fear passed over her face, but faded to curiosity when she saw how sad he seemed.

"Belle… " He said and gulped. "I… it was wrong of me to… attack you like I did. I never meant to hurt you and I'm sorry that I… lost my temper." He paused, but before she could speak, started again, staring at the floor as he spoke.

"I know there's not much I can do to reverse the damage I've caused you, but… I would like to give you a gift. I hope this and the help I promise to give you will make up for the damage I've done." He wheeled the cart in and Belle gasped in surprise. It was all done up in soft blankets and pillows and gleamed like new.

"I hope…" Beast began again, very softly as he pushed it toward her, "that you will be able to forgive me for what I've done to you." He did not dare glance up at her face, even though she was right in front of him now.

Belle looked from her injured shoulder and leg to the downcast beast and his gift. She reached out a hand, which trembled but stayed its course, and laid it on his giant paw.

"I do forgive you." She said. "I should have stayed away. Thank you for helping me." He looked up at her in shock. He hadn't expected her to forgive him that easily.

"Would you… like to take a ride?" He asked, daring to hope. She smiled.

"I would. Could we go to the kitchens? I am very hungry." From behind the door, Mrs. Potts smiled widely and gestured for Lumierre and Cogsworth to follow her. They quietly hopped down the stairs and to the kitchen to prepare a meal for two.

Belle gingerly lifted her back from the bed and was almost surprised when a large hand placed itself there and helped her sit up. Beast put his other arm under her legs and lifted her as though she weighed no more than a feather. He carefully placed her on the cart and wheeled her out into the hallway. He had to carry Belle and the cart down the stairs and managed it with ease. Fortunately the blood stain had now been cleaned from the landing and upon arriving at the bottom of the stairs, Beast wheeled Belle carefully into the kitchen, where a hot meal was awaiting them. Belle used one dainty hand to eat, as her injured shoulder made it difficult and painful to move her other arm. Beast attempted to eat with a spoon, but had to resort to drinking his soup instead.

Afterwards, Beast took her into the room with the fireplace. Lumierre lit it and warmth filled the room. Belle was very sleepy and eventually nodded off. She looked healthier - less pale and a ghost of a smile graced her sleeping face. Beast smiled too. A genuine smile, not a mouthful of teeth for once. He settled into his chair, but for once did not stare into the fire. Instead he watched Belle as she slept, keeping guard over her. He too drifted off to sleep, sitting in his chair.

When he next woke, the sun was setting. Belle soon stirred and opened her eyes.

"Beast?" She said, almost startling him.

"Yes?" He replied, unsure.

"Thank you, for this." She said, gesturing to her cart with one hand. "It's wonderful."

This time Belle got to see the genuine smile that came across his face

"Would you like some supper?" He asked, beginning to rise.

"That would be nice." She murmured, still sleepy.

"We may need to change the bandage on your shoulder soon," He said as he wheeled her to the kitchen.

Mrs. Potts agreed with him and they gently did so, trying to cause her as little pain as possible. Belle was surprised at how gentle Beast was being. He really had changed. Once her shoulder was wrapped up again, they ate. Belle kept glancing up at the Beast. She was beginning to see how he had changed. The hard lines on his face had softened and he seemed more of a large cuddly bear than the monster he had at first seemed.

Days passed and they spent a lot of time together in front of the fire, wandering the castle with Belle in her cart and Beast pushing it. Two months after the attack, Belle's ankle was healed and they carefully removed the cast. He supported her as she took her first few steps and hovered around her much like a mother hen as she recuperated.

She eventually taught him how to use a spoon and one night they danced. That one night changed everything forever as we well know.

The End.


End file.
